If Pakistan declares war, will states buy own tanks?: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Just as states can’t be asked to get their own weapons and look out for themselves if Pakistan declares a war on the nation, it is the central government that has to purchase and supply vaccines, not leave it to state governments to fend for themselves in the war against Covid-19, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday.
“If Pakistan declares war on India tomorrow, states cannot be asked to look out for themselves — that UP should buy its own tanks and Delhi procure its own weapons,” Kejriwal said in a digital press briefing, pointing out vaccines for people in the 18-44 age group and the stock of Covaxin for the elderly was now exhausted.
Kejriwal said vaccines should have been procured from across the world when the second wave started in March, but the states were instructed to make arrangements for themselves. “I’ve been in touch with the CMs of several states, and none has left any stone unturned to be able to get vaccines,” he said. “Many state governments issued global tenders for the vaccine and failed. The vaccine companies have clearly stated that they will not communicate with the state governments, only deal directly with the central government. Why is the country not buying vaccines?”
The CM said that India could not lose this war at any cost. “If the central government loses the Covid war, it is not just BJP which will not lose, India will lose,” he said. “If Delhi government loses, it is not AAP losing, India is. This is the time when the governments of 36 states and Union territories should work with the Centre as Team India.”
Kejriwal assured the PM that all CMs, rising above petty party politics, were working with him like soldiers of the nation. “You give us the responsibility and we will fulfil them,” he said, “but how can we execute the work that is not ours to do? The country has lost six months. If we delay it any further, no one knows how many more homes will be destroyed and how many more lives will be lost.”
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal visited a drive-through vaccination facility at Vegas Mall in Dwarka operated by Aakash Hospital. There were 70 jabs at the spot. Kejriwal hoped the facility would help many citizens. He said similar centres are expected to open in the next few days, but vaccination supply remained a problem.
“The government has Covishield for those above 45 years for a few days. We have already written more than once about Delhi’s need for 80 lakh vaccines per month,” the CM said, adding that Indian scientists had made among the first Covid vaccines. India should have started producing vaccines on a war footing right then and begun vaccinating citizens on a mass scale. “Had we vaccinated the country at the right time, we might have avoided the wrath of the second wave,” he said.
Kejriwal also said the relaxation of the lockdown couldn’t be linked with the vaccination drive because Delhi government wasn’t certain of the time the vaccines would take to arrive in the city. “The livelihoods of people are suffering, their businesses are shutting down, so we will have to consider how much unlocking can be allowed,” he said.
AAP MLA Atishi claimed that only private hospitals were inoculating the youth at a cost. “A vaccine dose costs between Rs 800 and Rs 1,300. A lot of young people in Delhi cannot afford to pay so much. This is the reason for the decline in daily vaccination numbers,” Atishi said.